Here is a nice clip from South Africa. Forward the video to 05:45 and you´ll see that these guys have found a kite spot that looks amazing! The darkslide at 06:30 is probably the smoothest darkslide I ever seen on a video, that’s what you can call riding with style!
Archive for June, 2012
Navis Boards – the best upwind board on the market?
Navis Boards is a new brand on the market that manufactures kite boards. Navis Boards differs from many other manufacturers in many ways. It´s not just the wooden look of the boards, but there unique characteristics and the possibility to customize the design and the shape of the board. All this to a price that can compete with most other kite boards on the market.
Navis Boards has a range of different boards in their portfolio. “Lewis” – the full carbon, high-performance kiteboard, “Hulk” – the light wind board and the “Bolt” – the all-round kiteboard. Navis Boards also sell longboards for skating.
I had the opportunity to test the 136×41 “Bolt” for about two weeks under various conditions, from choppy water and strong wind to flat water in light wind. These are my reflections.
At a glance
The board itself has a really nice design. The board has a core of tri-axial glass fiber reinforced Paulownia wood which gives the board a smooth and exclusive wooden look, just like a sailing boat made from hardwood.
The color of the rail can be chosen from 6 different colors which is nice since you also have the possibility to add your logo or some other graphics to the board, hence it´s possible to choose a color that match your logo.
There are also three different colors on the fins to choose from.
The pads are soft and comfortable with straps that allow you to adjust them so much that they even fit my big 11 inch feet when wearing 7mm boots.
Performance
+ Flexibility – The Bolt is without doubt a very flexible board. I’m one of those maniacs that like to jump insanely high and it´s not always that my landings are perfectly smooth. So the flexibility comes in handy since it helps to absorb and soften hard landings.
+ Upwind – the upwind performances are simply amazing! I´m used to ride a 134×39 F-One SK8, not a bad board at all, but I need at least 1-2 m/s more wind to be able to even ride with the F-One compared to the Bolt. I had a session when I barely could stay up on the F-One board, riding upwind was more or less impossible. I swapped to the Bolt and was amazed over the huge difference. The Bolt has of course a little bigger area than my F-One, but it is also lighter, much lighter. The light weight in combination with the rocker make the Bolt outstanding in light wind! Ask anyone who have tried a bolt and they’ll for sure tell you about the ease to ride upwind even in light wind.
+ Choppy water – Here the rocker comes in handy again. The Bolt is forgiving and handles choppy water as good as any other twin tip board.
– Pop – the pop is probably the only “weak” side with the Bolt. It´s not that the pop is bad. It´s fully possible to achieve good pop, but the flexibility of the board makes it slightly harder to pop comparing to stiffer boards. It´s all about compromises. A stiffer board delivers more pop than a more flexible board, but my opinion is that the other performances of the Bolt more than counterbalances the pop. However, if you really demand a board that deliver maximum pop, then you have the possibility to order a board that is a bit stiffer, by using another choice of reinforcement material. The board will not necessarily be thicker. The possibilities to customize your board from Navis Boards actually also includes the shape!
Construction
As already mentioned the board has a core made of tri-axial glass fiber reinforced Paulownia wood. The core is in turn layered with super strong plastic walls and UV- and impact resistant top sheet. This construction makes the Bolt extremely durable and it’s a board that can handle tough conditions, altough its low weight. Yet the flexibility is one of its kind. Navis Board offer a 2 year guarantee on their boards which is another proof of its indestructible construction.
Conclusion
The Bolt is a great all-round kiteboard. Perfect for beginners as well as more advanced riders. I can guarantee that you´ll be the one that still can ride upwind when all the other go back on land when the wind drops. The rocker and the flexibility provides a smooth ride, saving your knees and giving you extra soft landings. It´s easy to carve through the water and it delivers a pop that most riders probably are happy with. This is a board that I really can recommend to any rider out there!
Fore more information about Navis Boards, visit www.navisboards.com
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Perhaps the stupiest thing I’ve ever done…
You know the feeling when you havn’t been kiting for a while and then suddenly a day come when there is sun and wind… lots of wind! You can’t wait to get your ass to the water and have an awesome session! That day came to me yesterday. The forecast looked very promising in the morning, perfect conditions! The forecast for the afternoon showed that you could expect some serious strong wind coming in… Unfortunately I had to be in the school from morning to 1 pm. So when I finally was home after school, I grabbed my gear and rushed to the bus. To get to my local kite spot from the town where I live you have to change bus in another small town. So I jumped off the bus in the other small town and waited for the second bus, that didn’t come! I waited for 20 minutes, then I called the bus company. I was told that the bus already had left. Impossible, since I was at the bus stop at least 3 minutes before the time that the bus were suppose to leave. I got pissed off! the buses from the second bus stop only go once per hour, so I had two options. Either wait for 40 minutes or start walking to the kitespot, a walk that would have taken at least one hour… Then I got this “brilliant” idea. Why not walk to water and simply ride with my kite to the kitespot.
I started to walk. I reached the water about 15 minutes later, after crossing the highway and a field with fences and stinging nettles.
My plan was to perform a self launch with the kite, put my clothes and shoes in the kitebag and simply ride to the kitespot. So I rigged the kite and packed my bag. Everything was set! Only problem was that the wind was picking up and I could see some rain frontals out in the sea… I had to wait to a little bit. The front pasted and I saw my chance. I walked out in the water with the kite in my hand and my bag on my back. The self launch went well and I was up on the board, yeehaaa!
What I did not really take into account, or rather denied, was that I could get in trouble if the wind picked up a little… it was in my head of course, but it was a little too late to avert the insanity project… The problem was not only that the waves were pretty high and that the wind was strong and gusty. I could under no circumstances fall into the water since I had all my clothes in the bag on my back, including my iphone, keys, money, etc… The wind was so strong that the kite, a 9m Airush Varial X got bended and deformed due to the high wind pressure, though it was pumped to about 7.5 bar. When that happened, I had to bring down the kite to the surface and wait for the frontal to pass. I was on shallow water when this happened, so my bag was still quite dry.
Anyway, I continued my ride and everything went ok, until I reached a bay where I was forced to ride out several hundred metres to be able to pass a pier and a small lighthouse. I struggled to ride upwind in 3 metres high waves and was finally far out enough to be able to try to pass the lighthouse. However, a big fucking rain cloud was coming in and I thought to myself that this is a very bad idea, but this has to make or break!
Then it happened… The frontal was right over me and the wind was so strong that the kite got deformed again. I tried my best to ride downwind through the huge waves in high speed, but I had no chance to stay up on the board with the deformed and fully depowered above my head. I crashed into a wave and lost my board in the waves behind me. Trying to bodydrag upwind to reach the board would have been pointless in my situation, so I bodydragged downwind a few hundred meters until I reach the shallow water near the beach. I pulled the quick release and managed to reach my kite. I walked up on the beach and secured the kite with tons of sand. My board was lost in the ocean, but I figured that it would get washed ashore sooner or later. I was more worried about my bag, or rather all the stuff such as my iphone inside the bag, but it should be ok considering that I had put my iphone inside my jacket and the jacket inside a plastic bag. It is in this moment that it dawns on me, the bag is not on my back!!! I gaze out over the angry sea, but see nothing but water and waves… I also realize that one of my contact lenses is gone.
What to do now? Well, I got back in the water to search for my bag and my board. My worst fear was that the bag would have sunk to the bottom and I prayed to god that the pump still would be attached to the bag providing it with some buoyancy.
About an hour later I sight something black and round floating in the water, not to far from the beach, my bag!! Totally exhausted I waded through the water, up to the bag and lifted it up, what a feeling! I carried it back on land, like I was carrying a drowned person, the bag was safe! It turned out that one of the carrying straps had been ripped off when I crashed in the water and somehow it apperantly had slipped out from the other arm when I was tumbling around there for some seconds. Everything inside the bag was soaked, everything but a small piece of bread that was wrapped in a small plastic bag.
About 2 hours later I jump on a bus again, this time soaking wet and with an iphone that is completely dead!
I shake my head over my stupidity and I know that I only have myself to blame, but nothing bad without anything good. Now I have a good story to tell and the ground rule that you shouldn’t kite alone got another dimension for me. And hopefully some of you out there will learn something from a moron like me :)